While people talk about Billy Cameron, Brian Walsh, Declan McDonnell, Padraig Conneely, etc, as on course to keep their seats, people are unwilling to place any bets on the 2009 Local Elections just yet.
According to leading city bookmaker and Fine Gael councillor John Mulholland, until the final list of candidates is drawn up, nobody is willing to place money on who might get elected and how the parties might fare.
It could be argued that gamblers and speculators are being discommoded by Fianna Fáil’s inability to choose between Martin Quinn and Ollie Crowe in Galway City Central, as that is the last major piece of the Galway city electoral jigsaw.
Oh dear, not only has FF lost most of the public’s confidence, it has also lost the gamblers vote. That would never have happened if Charlie McCreevy was still around!
One thing Cllr Mulholland is interested in having a flutter on - and it’s not Cheltenham we are talking about here - is the odds on the giant oil tanks at the docks coming down before the Volvo Ocean Race in May.
At Monday’s city council meeting, councillors asked if the tanks would in fact be removed in time for the race. Cllr Mulholland said he was at a Fáilte Ireland meeting recently where the same question was asked and the chairwoman replied that she was “99.9 per cent certain they are coming down”.
“She must be a supreme optimist as I’d only give 6/4 on that happening,” Cllr Mulholland said. However Independent Cllr Declan McDonnell understood that the lease on the tanks runs out by September and they have to be removed by then.
“If that’s the case than it is 99.9 per cent certain to happen,” said Cllr Mulholland, “and that would certainly shorten the odds!”
